This Just In...

Napoleon Takes MarengoJune 14, 1800

Prologue

Columbia University History of the World:
A major factor in Napoleon's success was his
insistence on mobility. For example, his armies
moved independent of base stores, living off the
country, very successfully in Italy...

The Rest of the Story

A fine example of moving fast and living off
the land is the Battle of Marengo, fought 200
years ago today, and the dish created that day
off the land, Poulet sauté Marengo. While we
learned much about it when visiting Marengo, Italy, we
discovered a specialist on the subject in of all
places, the Royal-Champagne Hotel, near Eperney,
in France's Champagne district. Chef André
Desvignes (photo) has written extensively on the
subject in French. Here are some highlights,
from a rough English translation he gave us of
one of his articles.

Chef Andre Desvignes showing my wife his culinary awards.

"I write this with emotion because of the modest gastronome and historian that I am.

The First Consul [Napoleon], excited by
the outcome of the battle, asked his chef,
Dunand, for a bite. But the [food] waggons
were not there. But, the chef took off
his sword and cut up a chicken brought
in by a trooper. Oil was brought from
another farm. Other foragers came in with
garlic and tomatoes. Another trooper
offered his flask of Cognac. Bread was
added and the dish was simmering when a
"hussard" came in, proud of the few crawfish
he had fished in a neighboring brook, thus
bringing his contribution to his General's
meal.

[The Columbia History points out that no
leader was better than Napoleon at inspiring
loyalty from his troops.]

Risking to call upon himself the curse of
all the company, and even the Premier
Consul, despite all the rules of cooking,
Dunand covered the chicken with the crawfish.
They were cooked slowly by the aromatic
smoke coming up from the rest of the dish.

Napoleon was delighted with the dish and
told the chef that thereafter he must
serve it after every battle."

Wine of the Day

If he could have gotten it, Napolean would have
had with the meal a red wine made from the Pinot
Noir grape. (He was a Burgundy man.) One of the
best California Pinot Noir my tasters have found
in recent weeks is...

1996 Acacia Pinot Noir
Carneros Appellation, St. Clair Vineyard, $44 range
Production—497 Cases
The Vineyard—Its reputation is not that of a a purple
powerhouse, but rather the broadest
spectrum of flavors one finds in a
California Pinot.
Rating—My tasters noted the unusual complexity
and the long, smooth finish. They gave
it a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Contact—Director of Euphoria Carol Mabry,
(707)226-9991, FAX (707)226-1685

Postscript

For more about wine and the way the Little
Corporal with 40,000 troops exploded out of
the Alps onto Morengo, see the 1999 June 14
WineDay titled, "Son of a Gun, It's Napoleon!".

About the
Writer

Fred McMillin, a veteran wine writer, has taught wine history
for 30 years on three continents. He currently teaches wine
courses at San Francisco State and San Francisco City College.
In 1995, the Academy of Wine Communications honored Fred
with one of only 22 Certificates of Commendation awarded
to American wine writers.